"My Guy"
Traditionally a POW-MIA bracelet is worn until the man, named on the bracelet, is accounted for. Whether it be for 25 days or 25 years, the bracelet is worn and the man remembered.
After Operation Homecoming, those who wore bracelets with the names of returned POWs began to send the bracelets to the men and their families. Unfortunately, only 591 men returned and thousands of men remained Prisoner or Missing with tens of thousands of bracelets still being worn.
Once Homecoming was completed, the repatriation of remains began. It was during this time that the tradition of returning a man's bracelet to his family began. Throughout the years the remains return program has met with varying successes and dismal failures, yet, remains continue to be repatriated. Some identifications are accepted by the families, some are challenged. Nonetheless, the tradition of returning bracelets remains a part of the POW MIA history.
DPMO has advised - July 10, 2008 - that they no longer handle Bracelet Returns. They request that the following procedure be followed.
POW/MIA Bracelet Inquiries
Members of the public often contact DPMO requesting information on serviceman for whom they wore a Vietnam War POW/MIA bracelet. They usually wish to contact the person or his family so they can send them the bracelet that they wore. Since we cannot provide the public with private addresses we have on file, we recommend forwarding a postage-affixed letter to the respective serviceman's casualty office (see links below) with a cover letter explaining the request. If the service casualty office has a current address, they will forward the letter to the serviceman or his family. At that point, the serviceman or family member may choose to contact the concerned citizen and provide them with an address to send the bracelet. There is no guarantee that this process will work. Many of the former POWs are no longer in contact with their service casualty office and this also applies to the families.
Air Force
USAF Missing Persons Branch
550 C Street West, Suite 15
Randolph AFB, TX 78150-4716
1 (800) 531-5501
http://www.afpc.randolph.af.mil/library/airforcepowmias.asp
Army
Department of the Army
U.S. Army Human Resources Command
ATTN: AHRC-PER
200 Stovall Street
Alexandria, VA 22332-0482
1 (800) 892-2490
https://www.hrc.army.mil/site/active/TAGD/CMAOC/NavigationPages/nav_RFAD.htm
Marine Corps
Headquarters U. S. Marine Corps
Manpower and Reserve Affairs (MRC)
Personal and Family Readiness Division
3280 Russell Road
Quantico, VA 22134-5103
1 (800) 847-1597
http://www.usmc.mil
Navy
Navy Personnel Command
Casualty Assistance Division
POW/MIA Branch (PERS-624)
5720 Integrity Drive
Millington, TN 38055-6210
1 (800) 443-9298
http://www.npc.navy.mil/CommandSupport/CasualtyAssistance/POW+MIA+BRANCH.htm
Department of State
Overseas Citizens Services
U.S. Department of State
4th Floor
2201 Pennsylvania Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20037
Phone: (202) 647-5470
Contact information good as of July 12, 2008
Artwork: AII POW-MIA